Audacity Guide - York Music Service

AUDACITY
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE
by
Tim Brooks - Independent Music Consultant
Tim Brooks works as a Freelance Music Consultant and is a regular
contributor to the Teaching Music website.
WHAT AUDACITY CAN DO
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Record audio from a microphone, through the computer’s sound card, from a
line in or from a CD
Import existing audio tracks stored on a computer in .MP3 or .WAV format (and
a few other formats like .AIFF and .OGG but you don’t really need to worry
about these)
Process audio - i.e. add a variety of effects (know as digital signal processing DSP)
Edit audio - e.g. fade in/out, cut/paste etc.
Multitrack - i.e. record many layers of audio
WHAT AUDACITY IS NOT SO GOOD AT
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Multitracking to a precise beat - i.e. if you multitrack you really have to try and
play in time. Audacity records in real time not in beats and bars.
WHAT AUDACITY CAN’T DO
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Import WMA files (music ripped from Windows Media Player below V.10)
Import MP4 files (usually music ripped from iTunes)
Play or edit MIDI files
SOME POSSIBLE USES OF AUDACITY
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Record the music of a class/individual pupils/school concerts etc. and exporting
as an MP3 or .WAV file. This can then be burned to an audio CD, put on a
website, used in Powerpoint presentations etc.
Record short sound samples and add digital processing to create new, weird,
interesting sounds
Edit a long recording (e.g. a recording of a school concert) by cutting out the
bits in between items and exporting each item as a separate CD ‘track’
Transpose a recording of a backing track
Import existing music (e.g from a CD) and edit as above
Record whatever passes through the computer’s soundcard (e.g. recording
programmes from internet radio or sounds from websites that can’t normally be
downloaded)
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DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING AUDACITY
Audacity can be downloaded (free) from: www.audacity.sourceforge.net
Once downloaded simply click on the Audacity icon
to run the programme.
By right clicking you can add the icon as a short cut on the desktop (‘send to desktop create shortcut’)
When running Audacity for the first time there will be 2 prompts:
1. Language
Click ‘yes’ for the language (make sure it says English)
2. Audacity project association
Click ‘yes’ to associate project files with Audacity. This means that project files can be
opened directly with a double click (like Word documents etc.).
If ‘no’ is selected then Audacity must be opened first and the required file opened via
Audacity’s file menu. (No big deal but just takes a bit longer).
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1. RECORDING AND IMPORTING SOUNDS
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1.1 RECORDING VIA A MICROPHONE
Connect a microphone to the computer’s microphone input (usually coloured red or
has a microphone symbol next to it). The microphone will need to have a small
connector (1/8 “) similar to the size of the earphone connector for an MP3 player. If
you have a microphone with a larger connector (1/4 “) then you will have to buy an
adaptor - available from most electrical retailers.
Ideal microphones are those intended for computer use which can range in price from
about £1 to £10 or those for use with minidisk recorders (about £65). These can also
be bought from most electrical and computer retailers.
make sure ‘microphone’ is selected in the ‘input ‘ menu
Basic ‘transport’ and recording/playback controls:
go to start
play
playback level
record pause
stop
go to end
recording level
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To record, simply click on the ‘record’ button and recording will start immediately.
record button
recording level - adjust up
or down as necessary
recording level monitor
cursor - this will move
across the screen when
you record or playback
When recording is complete click on the ‘stop’ button and then click on ‘play’ to hear
the track.
playback level adjust accordingly play button
playback level monitor
time of recording in seconds
If the recording needs to be deleted click ‘stop’ then click the small X in the top left
corner of the track. This does not delete the track for ever. If you change your mind
and want to retrieve it then click on ‘edit’ on the menu bar and choose
‘undo track remove’. Almost all actions can be undone (or redone) like this.
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If you want to record another track in addition to the first one then simply click on
record again and a new track will appear.
mute button
It’s worth noting that when recording the second track the first track will playback so, if
the speakers are set quite loud, the first track will also be picked up by the microphone
when recording the second track. If you don’t want this then ideally get the
performer(s) to wear headphone(s) when recording the second track.
Alternatively, if exact synchronisation is not important you can always mute previous
tracks by clicking on the ‘mute’ button.
In the picture above the first track has been muted (grey instead of blue).
n.b.to the right of the mute button is the solo button. If this is activated then only this
track will play (useful for muting all other tracks with a single click).
The recording process can be repeated as many times as you like - there are no limits
to the number of simultaneous tracks.
If you record more than 4 tracks then they will start to disappear off the screen.
However to see all tracks at once click on ‘view’ on the menu bar and select ‘fit
vertically’.
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When recording multiple tracks, recording normally takes place from the beginning.
However if you want to add a new recording from a point other than the beginning
then set the cursor at the point where you wish to record from.
selection tool (I) - Audacity
always starts up with this tool
pre-selected
Set cursor simply by clicking with the
selection tool (I) in the grey area
When ‘record’ is clicked the new track will begin recording from the cursor
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If a track is recorded and the level is very low, then this can be boosted by the process
of ‘normalisation’. To normalise a track make sure the whole track is selected (the
easiest way to select a single track is to click in any blank grey area at the beginning
of the track (the track info box).
note very low recording level
whole track is selected when a darker grey/blue colour
Then click on ‘effect’ on the menu
bar and select normalise.
In the pop up dialogue box ignore the
settings and just click OK.
Notice how much bigger (louder) the waveform is after normalisation. Don’t forget this
will also make any other sounds, such as hiss, much louder as well.
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1.2 IMPORTING EXISTING AUDIO
To import existing audio (like a soundfile or CD track already on your computer) click
on ‘project’ on the menu bar and select import audio.
A browser window will then open for you to locate the audio file you want to import.
This must be a .MP3 or .WAV file. If you have Windows Media Player V10 or above
(or iTunes) then the ‘rip format’ must be set to either of these file types to import a CD
track into Audacity.
1.3 RECORDING FROM THE INTERNET
To record sounds from the internet (like sounds on a website or radio stations) set the
record input to wave out mix.
Adjust the recording input (this will probably have to be a lot lower than recording from
a microphone). Click on record as normal while the radio station etc. is playing and
Audacity will record whatever you are hearing.
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2. EDITING AND MIXING
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2.1 RELATIVE VOLUME LEVELS AND PANNING
All basic editing is the same wherever the sound source has come from (microphone,
imported audio, internet).
Multiple tracks can be balanced in volume by using the individual track volume
controls. i.e. if one track needs to be quieter or louder than another.
Individual tracks can also be ‘panned’. If you are playing back through stereo
speakers (which is normally the case) then the output volume of each track can be
directed more to the left or right speakers or both equally (centre). Panning can give
the recording a sense of space (e.g. two voices calling to each other across a room)
track 1 high volume
and panned to the left speaker
track 2 ‘normal’ volume
and panned to the right speaker
track 3 low volume
and panned to the centre
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2.2 REMOVING UNWANTED PARTS OF A RECORDING
There are various ways of doing this.
(a) to completely remove a section
Click and drag the selection tool (I) over the part of the recording you wish to remove
and then click on the ‘scissor’ tool.
This completely cuts out the section. The following part of the recording will be moved
back to join the previous part.
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(b) to silence a section
Select the part of the recording as before but click on the ‘silence selection’ tool.
The selection is silenced but not removed.
(c) to remove the unselected parts
Proceed as before but click on the ‘trim outside selection’ tool.
The selected part of the recording is left by itself at the point in time where it was
originally recorded.
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(d) to fade in and out (this is particularly useful for making a professional smooth
beginning and end to a recording).
Click and drag the selection tool (I) over the opening section for as long as you want
the fade in to be. Then click on effect on the menu bar and select fade in.
The opening section will now fade in gradually.
Repeat the same process for the end of the recording and click on fade out.
The end will now fade out gradually
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2.3 CUT, COPY, PASTE, DUPLICATE, SPLIT AND MOVE
Sections of a recording can be manipulated much the same as in a normal Word
document etc.
(a) to cut and paste
First select the part of the recording you wish to cut and paste by clicking and
dragging the selection tool.
Then click on cut (scissors) and move the cursor
to where you want the section to be pasted
Finally click on paste
cursor
The selection has now cut and pasted to the desired point.
(b) to copy and paste
Follow the same procedure as above but click on the copy tool instead of the cut tool
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(c) to duplicate
Select the part of the recording you wish to duplicate as above and then click on edit
on the menu bar and select duplicate from the drop down menu.
The selection will now be duplicated onto a new track.
(d) to split
Proceed as for duplication but select split from the drop down menu. The selection
will be copied to a new track but the original will be cut.
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(e) to move
To move an entire track forwards or backwards in time then select the ‘time shift tool’
(
).
With this tool you can click and drag the whole track forwards or backwards in time
(the track does not have to be selected).
If you wish to move only a part of the recording then you will have to duplicate/split the
recording so that part can be moved on a separate track.
The use of the other tools in the palette are not covered in this guide as in the majority
of cases you will only need to use the selection and time shift tools.
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3. PROCESSING
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3.1 PROCESSING (ADDING EFFECTS)
Processing is about applying digital effects to a sound to transform it, sometimes
creating a whole new sound, completely unrecognisable from the original.
Audacity has a large range of effects too numerous to discuss in full detail here.
To apply an effect, the procedure is much the same as for editing. First select a
whole track (click in a blank grey are at the beginning in the track info box) - or select
a section of a track (click and drag the selection tool) - to apply an effect to.
Then click on effect on the menu bar and select an effect from the drop down menu.
When you select an effect a dialogue box will open with all the various parameters that
can be changed. This often looks quite daunting but the best advice is to experiment
with the controls systematically, click OK (or preview) and hear what the effect is like
(and try to remember what you did if you find something that is really good!).
Remember, if you apply an effect that you then don’t want you can always undo it by
clicking on edit on the menu bar and selecting undo……. (whatever it was that you
did).
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3.2 COMMONLY USED EFFECTS
Some of the most commonly used effects:
amplify
change pitch*
will increase or decrease the volume according to the settings
selected. If you amplify a sound too much it could end up distorted.
will raise or lower the pitch of a sound
see note below
change speed
change tempo
equalisation
reverse
delay
reverb
will raise or lower the speed and pitch - similar to speeding up or
slowing down a vinyl record
will make the speed faster or slower without changing the pitch similar to performing a piece of music faster or slower
This is a more sophisticated ‘treble and bass’ control - making a sound
more boomy or tinny
will reverse a sound - i.e. make it play backwards
will add ‘echo’ to a sound - similar to hearing your voice repeated from
a mountain top
(called Gverb in Audacity) and will add ‘echo’ to a sound - similar to
being in a large hall
All the other effects, particularly ‘wah-wah’ and ‘phaser’, can create very interesting
and transforming effects.
You can also add multiple effects (simply by processing a track or selection several
times) - e.g. you can make a sound go backwards, have delay added and be raised in
pitch.
*Change Pitch
This can be a very useful function for transposing the pitch of a backing track for
singing along with (or fitting in with instruments etc.). If you have a backing track (on
your computer) that you wish to transpose, first import the file as explained in section
1.2. Then select the whole track, click on effect and select change pitch from the drop
down menu.
Decide whether you want
to transpose up or down
Click and select key
you wish to
transpose to. If you
have put C in the
first box then you
must determine how
far you want to
transpose (as if C
was the original key)
Click and select key of
original track (or just put C if
you don’t know)
Click OK when
ready
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4. SAVING, EXPORTING
AND FILE MANAGEMENT
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4.1 SAVING AN AUDACITY PROJECT
If a recording session is not quite finished, you may want to save your project as an
Audacity Project File (.aup) which means that at another time you can open up the
project and continue recording, editing and adding effects etc.
Click on file on the menu bar and select save project as.
In the dialogue box that opens, give your project a name and choose which folder you
want to save it to.
n.b. when you reopen this file it will only open with Audacity (i.e. the programme that
created it)
4.2 EXPORTING AN AUDACITY PROJECT
When your recording is completely finished you will want to export the project. This
will mix down all the tracks to one single stereo track and will be saved in a format
(such as .WAV or .MP3) that can be opened with other programmes such as Windows
Media Player, iTunes etc. and can also then be burned to a conventional audio CD
etc.
Click on file as before and this time select export as .WAV
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n.b. you can also select export as .MP3 but this will only work if you also downloaded
the LAME file encoder when you first installed Audacity. If not then there are plenty of
free downloadable file converters on the internet which will convert .WAV to .MP3 and
vice versa.
4.3 FILE MANAGEMENT
It is worth noting that if you import an audio file (see 1.2) - for editing, adding effects
etc. - Audacity does not copy the existing audio file but simply creates an image of the
file and remembers where to refer to it on your computer.
If you save your project as an Audacity Project File you can reopen the file later and
carry on editing as normal. HOWEVER - if, in the meantime, you have moved the
original (source) file (i.e. the file you originally imported for editing) to another folder
(e.g. trying to ‘tidy up’ your files) or even deleted it from your computer then the next
time you open up the project in Audacity you will see the image (waveform) of the file
but will hear no sound!!!
Audacity will only look for the original source file in the place where it was first stored so if it has been subsequently moved it cannot be found.
This fact has frequently led to many project files going astray.
The simple answer is - once you have imported a file then DON’T MOVE THE
ORIGINAL.
The reason that all audio recorders and sequencers refer to a source audio file rather
than making a copy is that the file sizes can be quite big. If audio software copied
these files every time then the computer’s hard disk would soon fill up.
Of course, if you export the project to a .WAV file then there is no longer a problem as
this will form a real copy of the original file (rather than just an image reference).
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5. APPENDIX
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5.1 RIPPING CD TRACKS TO .MP3 FORMAT
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER V.10
Windows Media Player below V.10 will only rip CD track to your computer in .WMA
format which cannot be recognised by Audacity. You must have version 10 or above.
V.10 can be set to rip to .MP3 as below:
1. Click on tools then options
2. Click on the rip music tab
3. Select mp3 in the drop down
format menu
4. Click on ‘apply’ then
‘OK’ to save the changes
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5.2 RIPPING CD TRACKS TO .MP3 OR .WAV FORMATS
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER V.11
1. Right click on Rip then on more options
2. Click on the Rip Music tab
3. Select WAV(lossless)or mp3
from the format drop down
menu
4. Click ‘apply’ then ‘OK’ to
save changes
NOTE: selecting .WAV will use up more hard disk space
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5.3 RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK THROUGH AN EXTERNAL SOUNDCARD
Computers (laptops in particular) don’t always come with a very high quality
soundcard. This means that recording onto a computer’s internal soundcard may
produce some hiss etc.
A way around this is to purchase a stand alone external soundcard (about £150-£200)
which can be connected to the computer via USB. The resulting recording will be near
professional quality.
If an external soundcard is being used then the recording software (such as Audacity)
needs to be told this.
In Audacity this can be set as below:
1. Click edit on the menu bar and then select preferences from the drop down menu
2. Select the Audio I/O tab
4. Repeat step 3 for the
playback menu if you
wish to hear playback
through the external
soundcard
3. On the recording
drop down menu select
your soundcard (which
should already have
been installed)
5. Click OK to save your
settings
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